It seems as though Phillip Rapp was correct. After the demolition of the Plaza Theater in 1964 many city residents were angry at city officials for tearing it down, their excuse was “the Plaza didn’t have an adequate stage” Philip Rapp “Manager of both Proctors and the Plaza ” in a 1980s addition of Old Dorp said that this was untrue, he claimed that actually the Plaza had a larger and deeper stage than Proctors, so I decided to put Mr Rapp to the test:)I did this by looking through old construction photos, for instance if there was a ladder lying down on the stage all I did is blown up the photo and count the ladder runs, each ladder run is 1 ft “I had to make sure my perspective was right”. Using Photoshop I then turned the ladder sideways, and with my mouse I moved the 12 ft ladder along the stage, this gave me a very accurate measurement..The Plaza stage was 65 ft wide being conservative and the depth was 28 ft. I again checked and rechecked every construction photo I have and it was right on every time. So I guess Mr Rapp was right:) because Proctors just enlarged their stage depth to 29 ft “ meaning in the old days it might have been 25 or 26 ft etc…One thing I should mention:) the Plaza didn’t have much of a stage loft, but according to the demolition crew, it wouldn’t have taken much to install one…Thanks!!!

Its sad when these grand movie palaces close..The Plaza really didn’t have much of a chance, only 33 years not long for the shining castle on the hill “that’s what we called it when we were kids”…no save the theater foundations back then {Or it didn’t seem so… The Plaza had a lot of Classical artist performing there way back when, Sergio Rachmaninoff, New York Philharmonic etc ,this city was never an artistic town …that may have been its demise “Oh well” One more word John Ebersons grand daughter came to our city about 12 years ago looking for photos etc..we don’t have any, really we dont they told her..Maybe I’ll try to contact Philip Rapps living relatives, who knows we may strike gold..Take care.

Details are very hard to find for the Plaza..demolished 40 yeas ago I guess things get lost..it would be nice to have lobby photos etc..I even contacted the Schenectady historical society, they don’t have anything? its almost like it never existed?….but I did hear tonight that it had a little pond in the lobby with fish…

The Plaza may have been owned by the Fabian family “Fabian Securities” but they were not the builders, Shapiro & Sons out of NYC did the actual hands on work, they started and completed all construction aspects of the Schenectady RKO. Recently researching through the Shapiro building record manuals we now know the Plaza “for sure” is listed as having 2500 seats. the State Theater in Schenectady “now demolished” had a bit over 1800 seats, the Schenectady Plaza never did and never had an 1800 seating capacity. Both the Plaza and Palace theaters were built at the same time, the Plaza was scheduled to be completed in 1 year, the Palace in Albany “John Eberson” architect for both theaters was to be completed in 16 months many delays in the Plazas construction went well over 1 year and the cost exceeded way over a million dollars.

And I wonder who the 2 men are in the photo as they look at the destroyed stage. I hope that at the time they wondered “if” they were doing the right thing! I can anwer that question now in one simple word……NO!

The Plaza demo photo is hard to view though glad to see this once great theatre is included on CT. I have recently learned that the site is now home to an insurance company’s headquarters. Do hope an historical plaque is placed at the location so nobody will ever forget what was once there for theatre and movie goers. And I sincerely hope that there were some residents of Schenectady who opposed the demolition and fought to keep this theatre standing for future generations. Sadly, someone with pen in hand presented the RKO with its final blow and existence.

As I spent my childhood years in Schenectady, I saw movies at the Plaza Theater many, many times. When I was 12 years old, the manager gave me a tour of the projection booth. Very exciting, since I wanted to be a projectionist when I grew up. A goal which was realized in 1969 after a 8 year hitch in the Navy. Too my eyes,the Plaza was a huge palace from the long hallway that lead from the enterance to the concession stand and the auditorium. It was heart breaking to see an empty lot where this beautiful theater once stood.

I believe this is the theater my dad, who was born in 1924, often spoke about. He said when you looked up at the ceiling, it looked like stars were shining and that it was air conditioned (which was apparently a novelty).

The Plaza Theatre opened on August 28, 1931 with 2382 seats. It was the second of two theatres built by Jacob (father) and Si (son) Fabian after they left the Stanley-Fabian Theatres that were acquired by Warner Bros. in 1928. The two theatres, the Palace in Albany and the Plaza in Schenectady were leased to RKO. RKO defaulted on the leases and the theatres were taken back by the Fabians and operated as part of the Fabian Theaters circuit. The Plaza Theatre was demolished in 1964.

The Plaza was a John Eberson atmospheric theatre, and I believe it opened in 1931. It was demolished in the late 60’s-early 70’s and remained an empty lot until recently when an office building was erected on the site. It’s across and just up the street from Proctor’s Theatre.